Roasted Red Pepper Soup: An Easy Soup Recipe

Like most fruit and vegetables, peppers take on a new flavour when they are roasted. In the case of red peppers, they lose some of their bitterness and acidity, and they become sweet and smoky. The sweetness and smokiness are the predominant flavours of this roasted red pepper soup.

The addition of smoked paprika to this soup recipe enhances the smoky taste and adds to the depth of flavour. Garlic is also used in this recipe to contribute to the flavour profile of this soup. You can adapt how much of each you use to suit your tastes.

One of the best things about this soup is that it is suitable for everybody. It is vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free, so it is a great dish to accommodate all dietary needs at a dinner party. Most children love this soup, so it is also great as a family meal. Furthermore, it is a visually appealing meal due to its bright red-orange colour.

Although the cooking time for this soup seems long, most of that time is roasting the peppers. While the peppers are cooking, you can prep your other ingredients, and the soup making part of the recipe does not take long at all.

Here is how to make a simple and tasty roasted red pepper soup.

Ingredients for Roasted Red Pepper Soup

• 8 red peppers, cored, halved, and deseeded
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

How to Make Roasted Red Pepper Soup

1. Preheat the oven to high heat.
2. Cover a baking tray or the base of a large roasting tin with foil.
3. Lay the peppers skin-side up on the baking tray.
4. Put the garlic cloves, with their peel intact on the baking tray. Doing this will roast the garlic but prevent it from burning.
5. Drizzle half the olive oil over the peppers.
6. Put the tray into the oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the pepper skins are beginning to blacken.
7. While the peppers are cooking, dice the onion and finely slice the celery.
8. Remove the garlic and peppers from the oven and cover the tray with cling film so that the peppers and garlic continue to steam. Alternatively, put the contents of the tray in a zip lock bag.
9. While the peppers are steaming, add the remaining olive oil to a large saucepan and put over medium heat on the hob.
10. Add the diced onion and celery, along with the two bay leaves to the pan.
11. Cook for 10 minutes until the onions and celery are beginning to soften.
12. Remove the garlic from the tray or zip bag, pop the cloves from their peel, and add to the pan.
13. Next, add the vegetable stock, and season the soup with salt, freshly ground pepper, and the smoked paprika.
14. Uncover the peppers or take them out of the bag, then carefully peel off the blackened skin and discard.
15. Add the peppers to the pan, cover with a lid, and simmer from 20 minutes.
16. After 20 minutes, take off the pan lid and remove the bay leaves from the soup.
17. To create a chunky soup- Remove half the soup mixture and put into a food processor and blitz before returning to the pan. Alternatively, use a hand blender and give the soup a quick blitz. Check the consistency and blitz again if necessary.
18. To create a smooth soup- Put all the soup mixture into the food processor and blitz before returning to the pan, or completely blitz to a smooth consistency using a stick blender.
19. Taste a little of the soup to check the seasoning. If necessary, add more salt and black pepper.
20. Serve with your choice of bread or croutons.

Additional Tips

• For a colourful soup, try using different colour peppers in this soup.
• You might also like our tomato, courgette, and pepper soup.
• You can use regular paprika instead of smoked paprika or omit this ingredient if you do not like this spice. However, paprika is a spice made from peppers, and the smoked variety complements the flavour of the roasted peppers.
• If you are not vegetarian, you can use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock for a different flavour.
• To create a creamy roasted red pepper soup, add a couple of spoons of creme fraiche.
• Try interesting ways of serving this soup, such as in a teacup as shown in the image.